Charlotte NC July 2 2021 The spread of legalization to new states, particularly on the East Coast, is providing new opportunities for security companies that provide armed guards to cannabis businesses, and for veterans with firearms training.

Paul Ballenger, Chief Executive Officer of Invicta Solutions is a Marine veteran and Army Reservist with about 400 armed security guards working in five states including California, Colorado, and Arizona.

They guard schools, religious institutions, and shopping malls. Invicta also provides armed guards for cannabis companies, having acquired the security guard business last year from Helix Technologies of Denver, and it’s a hot market given the attractive target that cash-flush cannabis shops pose for robbers.

“I never really intended to be in the cannabis space at all,” said Ballenger, who said he supports legalization though he doesn’t use cannabis. But now, he said that he’s “100%” committed to expansion to the East Coast.

Legalization is spreading across America — recreational marijuana became legal on July 1 in Connecticut and Virginia, and in New Mexico on June 29. “Legalization is now a reality for nearly one-half of the population,” said Erik Altieri, executive director of the pro-cannabis organization NORML, in a statement.

At last count, adult use has been legalized in 18 states, and also Washington, D.C., and Guam, according to the cannabis website Leafly.

This includes New York and New Jersey, which legalized adult-use cannabis earlier this year. While the retail markets for recreational cannabis have yet to launch in these fledgling states, companies are poised for expansion opportunities there. This includes companies that provide armed security guards to dispensaries in Western states, which have suffered a rash of armed robberies and break-ins.

Ballenger said his goal is to have Invicta in the key markets of New York, New Jersey and Florida by the end of this year.

Florida has a medical cannabis program, but adult use is not legal there. New York and New Jersey have medical dispensaries and adult-use is legal there, but recreational sales haven’t started yet.

This is creating job opportunities in a tight job market, particularly for veterans with experience in firearms. Ballenger estimates that at least half of his guards are veterans and they carry an assortment of semiautomatic sidearms made by Glock, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson, and Heckler & Koch.

Ryan Hale, chief sales officer for Operational Security Solutions in Fresno, California, said his company employs about 100 armed security guards, many of them veterans, for what OSS describes as “security-based risk management solutions for marijuana-related businesses.”

Hale said that OSS requires drug tests for its employees, including the ones guarding the dispensaries and other cannabis businesses.

“Marijuana and guns, never the twain shall meet,” said Hale. “We draw that clear separation because protecting a life needs to be 100% cognizant. We have a zero-tolerance policy against those who are going to be armed and using product.”

The cannabis business is booming, but this has also made dispensaries enticing to armed robbers and burglars. Weed can be easily resold illegally and most cannabis shops hold large amounts of cash. Regardless of state legalization, marijuana is still classified as an illegal Schedule I narcotic by the federal government, so credit card companies won’t process transactions from dispensaries and most banks won’t give them loans — or allow them to open up accounts to deposit their cash.

“When you have one location that has two very desirable liquid assets, one that is cash and one that can be turned into cash, they’re targets,” said Todd Morris, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brick House Security, which provides GPS tracking for cash, cannabis and the employees who are transporting it.

Working in a dispensary has gotten dangerous. A budtender named Michael Arthur, the father of a 6-year-old, was shot and killed by an armed robber at Cured Green dispensary in Portland, Oregon, in December 2020. Some budtenders and dispensary owners have taken to arming themselves, particularly in Oklahoma, which legalized medical cannabis in 2018. Since then, thousands of dispensaries have popped up, totaling $1.5 billion in sales thus far, according to The Oklahoman.

Armed robbers have targeted these dispensaries, seeking cash and also cannabis for resell in prohibition states like Texas and Kansas. Sometimes they encounter armed budtenders. In April, an armed suspect was shot dead in April at the Highest Choice dispensary in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Last year in Oklahoma City, a bystander was wounded in the parking lot of a dispensary called All City Plug from gunfire between an armed robber and armed employee, according to ABC broadcast outlet KOCO 5 News.

But rather than arming themselves, many cannabis workers are turning to professionals for help.

“I think it makes more sense to outsource for a slew of reasons,” said Derek Porter, managing partner of Cannabis Security Experts, a cannabis security consultancy in Parker, Colorado. “Budtenders haven’t necessarily been trained on how to use firearms or to detain somebody.”

While some dispensaries employ unarmed security guards, Porter said that armed guards provide a visible security presence and a “powerful” deterrent to armed robbery.

“If you have guards, then you might as well have them be armed, because that gives them the fullest extent to protect themselves as well as the people within that organization, to protect life to the maximum extent,” he said.

Cannabis industry insiders typically blame federal prohibition for making the industry unnecessarily risky because federal law equates cannabis finance with money laundering. This makes it difficult for cannabis companies to get banking services, forcing many of them to deal with cash. In April, the House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. If passed by the Senate, it would free restrictions for banks to provide financing to cannabis companies.

“The industry is much safer than it was, but it’s still very dangerous because it involves a ton of cash,” said Scott Kenyon, Chief Executive Officer of Wurk, which provides payroll software to cannabis companies like Acreage, Canopy and Cresco Labs.

But even if the SAFE Banking Act is eventually passed, reducing the reliance on cash, that doesn’t mean that armed robbers will go away. Cannabis companies would still be handling the cannabis itself, which is a valuable asset coveted by criminals.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s needed,” said Kenyon, referring to armed security. “The employees in our industry should be able to work in a safer environment.”

Forbes

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